Hornby chairman signals commitment

published 13 June 2011

The chairman of Hornby, Neil Johnson, has followed the company's chief executive in taking more shares in the train set maker, buying 50,000 shares at 139p a time.The transaction, which set him back a total of £69,500, takes his holding to 100,000 shares, or 0.25% of the company.His purchase comes not long after Hornby said it saw sales fall in the year to 31 March, but blamed this on supply issues rather than the tough economic outlook and said it the business is in "great shape." Hornby, most famous for train sets, but also the maker of Scaletrix racing sets and Corgi models, said that its largest supplier in China failed to meet the company's product supply requirements. It said it has been working to improve the performance of that supplier and others and to diversify the supply base. Compounding these issues, the wintery weather in Britain in December hurt sales during the Christmas period. However, Hornby is confident on future prospects and says sales of merchandise for the London 2012 Olympics are gathering momentum. Last week Hornby announced its chief executive Frank Martin took 20,000 shares at 142p a time, also after its full-year results.Top Director BuysHornby (HRN) Director name: Mr Neil JohnsonAmount purchased: 50,000 @ 139.00p Value: £69,500Renold (RNO) Director name: Mr Brian TennerAmount purchased: 75,000 @ 37.90p Value: £28,425Top Director SellsM Winkworth (WINK) Director name: Mr Simon AgaceAmount sold: 150,000 @ 88.00p Value: £132,000M Winkworth (WINK) Director name: Mr Simon AgaceAmount sold: 48,000 @ 82.00p Value: £39,360M Winkworth (WINK) Director name: Mr Simon AgaceAmount sold: 12,250 @ 88.00p Value: £10,780